Monday, August 2, 2010

The SBA and fimicolous

fimicolous(fy-MIK-uh-luhs, fuh-)Living in or growing in animal excrement.From Latin fimus (dung) + colere (to inhabit)._____________________________________________________TIP OF THE WEEKThe fimicolous propensity of Congress revealed itself as the Senate filibustered away HR 5297 the Small Business Lending Act. This bill would have extended the 90 percent guaranty on 7(a) loans as well as extended fee waivers along with an increased 7(a) and 504 program.

Using the filibuster to delay or block legislative action is a cherished tradition dating back to before the Civil War. The name for this tactic for pirating debate actually comes from a Dutch word meaning “pirate”.

In 1917, senators adopted a rule (Rule 22), at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, that allowed the Senate to end a debate with a two-thirds majority vote, a device known as "cloture."

A successful cloture vote means the Senate would be limited to just 30 more hours of debate, which is a great topper to the 30 days they've already spent on it. It does not really matter since the House is already on summer vacation until after Labor Day.

What the politicians do agree on however is that Small Business will be the engine of job growth which is why this legislation is also referred to the Small Business Jobs Act.

Fimicolous is a wonderful adjective to describe what happens in Washington._________________________________________Indices:PRIME RATE= 3.25%SBA LIBOR Base Rate July 2010 = 3.35%SBA Fixed Base Rate July 2010 = 5.88%________________________________________________504 Debenture Rate for JulyThe debenture rate is 3.80% but note rate is 3.86% and effective yield is only 5.213%.________________________________________________AHEAD OF THE YIELD CURVE

It will be Small Business that will be the engine of job growth out of this recession.

This morning Intuit said small business employment grew slightly in July generating approximately 40,000 new jobs nationwide in July, a decrease from June’s revised estimate of 45,000 jobs. Since the growth trend began in October 2009, small business jobs have increased by 330,000. The Intuit Small Business Employment Index shows increasing employment since October 2009, reversing a downward trend that dates back to 2007.

The employment index reflects data from approximately 62,000 small business employers who use Intuit Online Payroll. These smallest employers are important to the economy as they comprise 87 percent of the total U.S. private employer base and employ nearly 20 million people.

Small Business accounted for almost all the jobs created in June. Payrolls had declined by 125,000 in June as the government cut 225,000 temporary workers conducting the 2010 census, Labor Department figures in Washington showed. Employment at all companies rose 83,000.

Keep your eye on Friday’s payroll report from the Department of Labor.Here is a summary of payroll employment and this week’s interesting little table of data:

The pace of hiring signals it will take years for the world’s largest economy to recover the more than 8 million jobs lost during the recession that began in December 2007.

Don’t be deceived by the jump in payrolls for May when they rose by 431,000 since it included a 411,000 jump in government hiring of temporary workers for the 2010 census.All the new jobs are coming from small business. According to Intuit, 60,000 were added in February, when it seemed that an employment recovery was imminent. Additional hiring dropped steadily during the spring, to 40,000 in April and 32,000 in May. Another payroll company, Automatic Data Processing Inc., painted an even gloomier picture, saying that small businesses lost 1,000 jobs nationwide in June.

While correlation is not causation, the drop in small business hiring coincidences with the expiration of the SBA loan Recovery ACT stimulus measures.

Interest rates will stay low for, as the Federal Reserve likes to say, for an extended period._________________________________________________OFF BASE

Which would you rather have -- a million dollars, or Joe Oliver's head full of nickels?

That was the question Brett Boone once asked while playing for the Cincinnati Reds with teammate Joe Oliver. At the time, Joe had what was believed the biggest head in all of baseball.

The distinction now goes to Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

His cap size is 8 ¾ which is half a dozen sizes bigger than the average 7 3/8.

When he was finally called up to the majors in 1982, his bigger-than-normal hat size caused him trouble. After arriving in New York, he could not find a helmet to fit him and had to wait until his was rushed up from Tidewater before he could play.

Throughout his 14 years as a catcher in organized ball, Bochy wore the same batting and catching helmets. Both helmets were specially made in 1975, his first year in A ball with the Covington Astros. The batting lid was so huge that when he made a game-winning hit late in the '86 season, his Padres teammates celebrated by filling it with ice and a six-pack.

That large head of Bochy’s seems to be filled with knowing the rules of the game.

Last week Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly, who had to take over after Joe Torre had been thrown out of the game, went to the mound for a chat with Dodger reliever Jonathon Broxton. Mattingly took a few steps back off the dirt toward the dugout before turning around to answer a question from the Dodger first baseman.

Bochy and his pumpkin head came out to protest that Mattingly's about-face constituted a second trip to the mound. The umpires huddled and agreed, and Broxton had to leave the game. Broxton who had 19 saves and the week before had finished off the National League’s win in the All-Star Game, by rule was forced from the game with one out, the bases loaded and the Dodgers holding a one-run lead. Without their All Star pitcher the Dodgers gave it up and the Giants rallied to win, 7-5.

Rule 8.06 of the Official Baseball Rules stipulates a trip to the mound begins when a manager or coach crosses the foul line and ends when he leaves the 18-foot dirt circle surrounding the pitcher’s rubber. Returning to the dirt constitutes a second trip, at which point the pitcher must be removed.